Chapter 1: The Event

I woke up, feeling tired and groggy. It felt weird, as I never felt this kind of tiredness before.

Could this be due to the events yesterday? I opened the TV and saw the news related to the events yesterday.

"...Thousands of reports of people falling to the ground unconscious..."

"...Scientists say it is the altered concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere that caused the massive wave of people falling down unconscious...."

"....People say this was a joint biological attack from Russia and China, but the 2 countries quickly denied any involvement and cited that they were also victims..."

As more and more discussions continued on in the news, I just shut it off and closed my eyes as I rested on the bed.

What is happening to this world, I wondered to myself.

<Activating System.>

Huh? I opened my eyes startled.

What system?

<Magic System has been activated>

<Activating protocols...success>

<Activating Achievements Section...activated>

<Activating Magic interface...activated>

<System activation success>

<Activating Basic AI System...activated>

Suddenly, it went quiet. I was confused and a bit scared. What was happening?

<Hello Paolo. I am your basic AI system, here to help you. You can communicate to me by sending your thoughts directed to me.>

I tried to calm myself down and tried to follow what the weird voice was instructing.

What is happening? How did this System even appear in the first place?

<The system was already inherent in your genetic structure; however, it could not be activated until now due to environmental restrictions. The issue was resolved yesterday, when the environmental restrictions were removed suddenly.>

So, what was the environmental restriction?

<Cannot respond to the inquiry, you do not have the authority at the moment to do so.>

This led me to ask another question. How do I increase my authority over the system?

<Completing Achievements, increasing one's karmic value, as well as upgrading the AI system.>

What are Achievements? What is karmic value? Does this mean I have to do good things for other people?

<Achievements is a form of reward established by the system. The system creates a set of tasks to be done real-time and hopes for you to complete. Quality of tasks as well as completion % is also calculated, and rewards are either increased or decreased based on your performance>

<Karmic value is a mysterious thing; it is possible for you to do bad things yet have an increased karmic value, and vice versa. As of the moment, the system cannot determine the parameters of karmic value>

You mentioned tasks. Does this mean there would be something like a quest or mission to be accomplished? Would there be Daily, weekly, or monthly quests? Or is it based on the situation?

<Tasks are divided into 3: Repeatable, Main, and Side tasks. Repeatable are the so called daily tasks. The Main tasks are there to give bountiful rewards that would improve your overall state and wellbeing. Side tasks may actually help you unlock new content in the system, as well as earn a new type of reward from repeatable quests.>

<Main tasks are given based on the situation and cannot be forced to be given.>

I see. What is this Magic interface?

<Please try calling out "Menu" in your thoughts.>

Menu.

Immediately, I was surprised. I saw a set of rectangular boxes appearing in the lower left of my vision.

<You can select any of the options based on your thoughts alone. You do not have to summon the interface every time.>

I nodded internally and explored the options.

There was "Magic", "Items", "Equipments", "Crafting/Forging", and "Upgrades".

I opened the "Magic" box and saw another window appear, showing what seemed to be a skill tree. I tried counting how many skills were available and saw that there was more than 1000 skills available. I checked the ends of the skill tree, knowing that there would be some final spells or the so called ultimate magic.

"Light's End, Immortal Dawn, Everlasting Twilight, Gaea's Destruction, Winds of Aeolus, Lightning Calamity, Lands of the Dead, Spring of Immortality, Death's Scythe, Broken Dreams, Reality Shift, Chronus' Hourglass..."

There was quite a lot of final skills. Seeing the names alone gave me a sense of majesty and power. I shook my head and focused on the base of the skill tree. There was 1 main skill, which was "Bolt", a neutral skill. I could see it branching to different elemental bolts.

I asked the system how do I level up the skills.

<Using skill points obtained from doing tasks, or from leveling up after doing tasks.>

I asked if there were other ways of leveling up to the system.

<The system will soon release a monster bounty. Due to the change in environmental conditions, mutated beasts 10 to 1000 times stronger than they were before will begin to appear in less than 1-2 months.>

<The system has now created a Main task: Strengthen and fortify!">

[Strengthen and fortify

GOAL: Gain 15 levels in 2 months. Identify a place you can call as a base you own.

Reward: 150 skill points, 1500 System points. Unlocks "Cooking" Sub-skill under Crafting/Forging. Unlocks System upgrades menu. ]

As I digested the content of the task, I was already a bit shocked with the previous news that the system had mentioned. Mutated beasts?

So this world is slowly turning into an MMORPG, except it's real life and not online. Fuck.